The Warren Report: 2-4-04

When I went to take a shower this morning, the water coming out of the faucet was the color of piss. Sometimes I feel like I'm living in a Bad Signal.

As such, I'm going to talk about some things that have been entertaining me before I get around to the Week in Warren. Here's what I've been reading:

Jimmy Olsen v. 1, The Forever People, and Walt Simonson's Orion - Trying to get a feel on Kirby and Kirbyesque books for when I finally dialogue the Kirby Project. So far, I just know I want him to say "Blazes!" a lot. I also did a mock up cover design and test-lettered Phil's first page. I'm pretty happy with it so far, and apparently Phil's trucking right along. We've even got a concept sketch of the cover from Chad, so it's really starting to shape up. Keep watching Phil's blog for more info and previews.

Skinny Dip by Carl Hiaasin - Listening to this one, actually, as a book on tape on the long drive to and from work. It's the same way I read one of Hiassin's other novels, Lucky You, which featured a jaded reporter, two winning lottery tickets, a town built around religious roadside attractions, and two rednecks who comprised the membership of the "White Clarion Aryans." Skinny Dip is a bit more tame thus far, but almost as entertaining and very enjoyable.

Ghost World by Dan Clowes - I've heard nothing but good things about it, usually from Tug, so I finally got around to reading Ghost World on a slow day at the shop. Also got through Kyle Baker's You Are Here and the first few American Splendor strips, making Thursday "Indy Comic Day" as far as my reading habits were concerned. Thoroughly enjoyed all three, although Ghost World was the only one to make me laugh aloud with the scene where the Satanists buy lunchables. Maybe I should jump on Eightball?

Read a bunch of other stuff, too (though not that damn Eberron book, you bastards), and also watched four episodes of The Prisoner, three of Monk, and celebrated my mom's birthday today.

That said, it's amazing I've had time to keep up with the thirteen Bad Signals sent out this week. Jesus, Warren, take a breath, huh?

He was all over the place this week, from plugging Brian Wood and Reginald "Hollywood" Hudlin to further discussion of Fight Comics to a "Bible that explodes at the touch of a button," which would certainly get me back in church.

But really, that's par for the course for Warren, just like announcing Apparat 2 weeks after essentially going: "No there's not a sequel to Apparat! They're bloody singles, you tossers!" It makes me wonder if we'll be getting further adventures of Simon Spector and Frank Ironwine, or if it'll be four entirely new titles (two good, one mediocre, one rough).

What really stuck out to me from this week's massive amount of Ellis Brand Tomfoolery were two posts that were just funny. The first was about Warren turning 37 and feeling old (essentially the same Bad Signal as last year when he turned 36, according to Scott), and is deserving of quoting itself:

"Maybe that was the point where I should've waved my arms around and yelled "I'm becoming a magician!" like Alan. But Alan, bless 'im, was nuts long before that. As is Grant, but Grant has this wellspring of eternal youth. And Garth's always had the eyes of a slightly berserk teenager. And Millar's about eleven, deep down."
Is it just me or does that just make you think that every British comic book writer lives within three blocks of one another, and they all hang out at the same pub making fun of Alan Grant for living in a frigg'n castle? It'd be the best sitcom ever.

The other one that stuck out (oh, the puns return) was the one about the rapper who gouged out his own eye because he's fucking insane. For those of you keeping score, my link goes to the WarrenEllis.com page, and his links are (from top to bottom) a picture of the empty socket in question (for the love of God, do not click) and the news story itself (feel free to peruse). I really don't even have a joke about that one. It's just... wow. That guy's got some problems.

So that's pretty much the essence of Warren this week, boiled down into some sort of super-potent concentrate that, once consumed, will have you growing a beard and typing on handheld computers in pubs in no time flat. But before I go, I do want to talk about something I said last week.

There's a few of you that saw my comment about Ultimate FF (a book I do enjoy) last week and how they just stand around talking about their powers for 22 pages rather than, you know, actually using them. Admittedly, that's a dig, but the fact is that Warren has written and continues to write more comics I enjoy than I don't--that last issue of Planetary, for instance, was hellacious, even if it was Warren's "Lone Ranger Fanfic" (a comment I had a good chuckle about, by the way). But consider: Warren thinks about comics a lot, that much is evident. He looks at the market and he sees books getting cancelled because they're not "what the people want." He also sees Brian Bendis continuing to gain commercial and critical success despite not writing good comics since the middle of last year. You can't blame him for doing UFF in the style that Bendis set up, which is the style that Marvel obviously wants and is willing to pay for. He's a shrewd little Englishman.

Anyway, that's that. Now, my TV is currently showing The Avengers, or as I like to call it, "Not As Good As The Prisoner," a situation I intend to rectify immediately.